[July 14, 2025] Today, Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) responded to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) formal notice that they will no longer use the “socially disadvantaged” standards previously included in its programs to exclude farmers because of their skin color or sex from much-needed USDA programs.

The USDA’s notice comes in direct response to SLF’s courtroom victory in Strickland v. USDA stopping eight Biden-era DEI-type disaster relief programs that divvied out funds to farmers on the basis of race and sex, excluding white male farmers. These programs were carryovers from the Biden Administration’s attempts to infuse Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) into all federal programs.

Following its legal victory, and after President Trump took office, SLF sent the USDA a letter alerting it to dozens of additional discriminatory programs still on the books. SLF explained in its letter, “Being a farmer or a rancher is a risky business. Even though America’s producers secure our Nation’s food supply, one drought can wipe out a producer’s entire season’s crops, one wildfire can kill an entire herd, and one hurricane can destroy an entire orchard. Natural disasters do not discriminate. Neither should the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).”

USDA is praising SLF’s efforts for “catalyz[ing]” the changes to the unconstitutional and discriminatory programs. It says, “Moving forward, USDA will no longer apply race- or sex-based criteria in its decision-making processes, ensuring that its programs are administered in a manner that upholds the principles of meritocracy, fairness, and equal opportunity for all participants.”

SLF President Kim Hermann said, “This is a big win for SLF, but most importantly it is a huge win for America’s farmers. We are very thankful for the USDA’s revisions to these programs, and we are incredibly proud that we were able to play a part in protecting America’s farmers from race- and sex-based discrimination. Farming is one of the most important and difficult occupations in the world, where their hard work directly impacts everyone. They have to be able to do their jobs without having to worry about DEI nonsense, and we hope to see any forms of discrimination in federal programs come to a complete halt.”

Download press release.